THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1873.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1437, 10 March 1873, Page 2

THE Grey River Argus. PUBLISHED DAILY. MONDAY, MARCH 10, 1873.

The Committee appointed by the promoters in Greymouth of the New Zealand Coal Company have not been idle during the past week. Their firat step, after troubling the wires hence to Wellington to some extent, was an eminently practical one, viz . to appoint a sab-comonttee to draft a full prospectus of the proposed Company, and draw up a statement of conditions on whiijh the. co-operation of Greymouth might fairly and safely be offered to the shareholders in Wellington and elsewhere. It was evident from the first that the •' rough prospectus " which emanated from the Empire City was both crude and meagre, and it behoves all those who are concerning themselves with the present proposal to develope our coalHeld-* to take every precaution to ensure the Company being started on a Bound and practical hasia. The sub-committee have accordingly trone very fully into the matter, and will present a report to the general committee to be held this evening, at eight o'clock at the Union Hotel. The A racy street bridge is rapidly approaching completion, and in a few days will op. open for general traffic. ' The contractor, Mr Matbieson, has made the most of the dry weather in pushing on the work. The bridge, when completed, will be a substantial structure, and is expected to be able to resist any floods we are likely to have in futu>e The material with which it is bui t is of the most durable description, and, except the repairs caused by ordinary tear and wear, will last for ten or twelve years. As no news has yet been received of the recapture of the runaway convicts Chamhei-1-iin and F.evy, it is to be presumed that they are still at large. The adjourned monthly meeting of tb. • Volunteer Fire Brigade takes place this evening at eight o'clock sharp. AH members are requested to attend, as the business is important. The new rush at Orwell Creek, near Napoleon. is assuming extensive proportions. The Government Surveyor laid off the site of a new township on Friday, near the junction of Topsy and Orwell Creeks. The exact position of the new town is at the clearing where Mr S Samuels, and afterwards Mr Gagiiardi kept a Rtwe aud hotel, during the Topsy and Napoleon rushes. A complimentary benefit is to be given to-night, in the Volunteer H»ll f to Mr R._ W. Pownall, who is about to return to En;* land. The concert, judging by the programme (which will be found in another column), and the names of the lady and gentleman amateurs wbi are to take part in it, is sure to prove a very successful due. At the Resident Magistrate's Court on Saturday, before W. H. Kevell, Esq., Andrew Tullock and Matthew Holden. Were charged with having committed, an assault upon Thas. Miller, New River district, on Monday last. After hearing the statements of the parties, Tullock was fined L 2 and costs, and was hound over to keep the peace for six months, himself in LlO, and two sureties in L 5 each, and Holden was fined 20s. A trottiag match for LSO a-side came off on Friday, at the race-course, T.»tara Flat, between Mr F. Wilckins's Creeping Jane and Mr Jas. Marshall's Kam>er, the owners up. The race was won, after an ex-'itin .• struggle, by Ranger. The distance was three miles, and the ti-»e a trifle under 14min. Weu-derstand that Mr Justice Gfpssou will be the presiding jndye at the next sitting s of the Supreme Court, in HoHtika His Honor is expected «in Hokitika on Wednesday evening, the 13th instant. At the last sitting of the Resident Ma«i trite's Court at No Town, a publican was summoned to pa> for deinages done by his pg* in another man's garden. The defence w s that if the pins did do some dam-'g* on the present occasion they were entitled to consideration for the i>ood service they formerly rendered as general scavengers, b\ consuming all the offal and garbage lying about, prevented che generation of disease, and save the town from the visitation of a pestilence. The Court, it was informed, wouLl find a precedent for leniency in th • manner in which the "adjutents" in th* Kast Indies, like the "Majors" at Wan ganui, were cherished and reverenced by th ' inhabitants and allowed to live on the fat of the land, and to do as to them seemeth good. In explanation it came out; that the " adju. tents" were not, as are the majors, "mi» gratory men unattached," but a species o pelican, with an attachment for refuse o r every description, and in consequence of it sanitive uses was held in sacred estimatioi j»nd not only remitted to mam about at it: own sweet will, but a heavy penalty wainflicted for molesling or interfering with it His Worship failing to perceive the connec tion between the habits and manners of tht Orientals and those of the pigs at No Town fined the defendant L 3 with the costs of the suit. The extent to which it is possible for some narrow-minded persons to foster loca jealousi. .4 w.is never better exhibited than by a paragraph in tbe Wettland Register <>f Saturday, rejoicing over the contemptible fact that Capt. Allarclyce's salary had been reduced. The fact is actually announced with pleasure! because the officer in question happens to 1 c partly connected with the port of Greymouth. The paper we refer to j says: — M We have the pleasure to inform our readers that through tbe action takei. by ti>e 'Treymouth members, an official resident in th-it town has actually bad his pay re- ! clucfid. We do not mean to convey that Messrs Kennedy and Smith voted for the reduction Far from it. The reduction in j *£° P * y n° f . ra «' ttani n Allardyce cam« about in tne t Jlowiiis manner :— An amend men t, moved by Mr Ou.ni., ft when the estimates were under discussion, resulted in the reduction ot Cantain Turnhull'a pay h y L 25 per annum. That gentJem-ui has hithero enjoyed a salary ; of 1. 25 per annum in excess of what is paid Captain Allardyce The amendment was strongly supported by Messrs Kennedy and Smith, and, as we have intimated, was carried. The Chairman, Beeing this, moved the reduction of Captain All»rdyce'B pay by a similar amount ; and, notwithstanding the almost uathetic remonstrances of Mr Smith, who informed the Council that Mr Allardyce had to cross the Grey Hirer every day (we presume in a boat

the reduction, on a division, was carried. It is really to be regretted that the two Greymouth members allow local feelings to influence them to such au extent. It almost seems enough for an officer to have once lived in Greymouth for him to receive the protection of these two gentlemen— witness the keeping unreduced the pay of the heads of the police department. If Mr James had not trod the sacred Boil of Greymouth, we doubt whether he would now be enjoying such a hijjh rate of salary." The sale of the stalls, booths, &c connected with the forthcoming anuual race meeting passed off most successfully on Saturday, in front of D. Maclean and Co 's rooms, the total sum realised being far iv excess of the Stewards' anticipations, and larger than was ever realised on any former occTision. Vhe competition throughout was very keen. The first sold was No. 4, tbe Stewards' booth, under the grand stand, which fetched the large sum of LBl, Mr Hanney being the purchaser. No. 3, the next offered, fell to Mr Carroll for L3O, and the next, No. 2, was purchased bj the same gentleman for L 32. No. 1 booth was bouaht by Mr Johnston for L 34. Mr H. Sutherland gave L3O for No 5, and No. 6 was pui chased by Mr S. G. Rich for L 24. Mr W. Jones bought fruit stall No. 1 for LI I, and No. 2, by Mr Col'ins for Ll4. The right to publish cards of the races realised L 25 from Mr Riley. The right to tend horses was secured by Mr Sheedy at Ll6i 10s The total amount realised was L 297 10s, which is certainly a very handsome addition to the funds of thu Jockey Club. The christening of the water-wheel and pumping gear on Alfred Borgenson and Company's gold-mining leasehold at Brandy Jack's Creek took place on Saturday. Mr Whitefoord and a number of visitors from the surrounding districts were present. The new rush at No Town, where Mackenzie aud party found the gold, is situated on the highest point of the dividing range between the watershed of Red Jack's Creek and No Town. These high level gold bearing deposits are now exciting general attention among the miners in the Grey Valley. The following are the weights and nominations of the horses that have accepted for the different handicaps at the Annual Race Meeting :—

GREI MOUTH JOCKEY CLUB HANDICAP. St. lb. Mr Walters'B b m Yatterina, aged .. 9 0 Mr Nosworthy's br m Envy, 5 yrs ... 8 5 Mr P. Campbell's b g Harlequin, aged ... 712 Mr U. M. 'Gee's br g Dick Turpin, aged ... 7 8 MMV. C. Webb's eh m Gossip, 4 yrs GlO .Vlr W. O. Webb's eh t Prima Dmina, 4 yrs ... 6 2 "WESTLAND HURDLK HANDICAP. Mr P. Campbell's b g Harlequin, aged ... 11 0 Vlr A. Skelton's grg Septimus, 6 yrs 10 0 Mr J. Jerome's cli c Muzzel, 4 yrs ... 9 8 Mr O M 'Gee's b g Dick Turpin, aged , ...9 8 Mr tS. Garforth's br g Commodore, aged ... 9 4 All the horses with the exception of ■ 'ick Turpin and Creeping Jenny have now arrived, inasmuch as Envy, Harlequin, Gossip, and Prima Donna got in on Saturday last As before stated, Dick Turpin and Creeping Jenny will most probably coma by the Charles Edward. It is certaiuiy much to be regretted that the drought has prevailed so long, as the courae, although in most excellent order, would be all tbe better of a few showers, if only to lay the dust and allow of its being rolled. A newly-made road from the main road to the bridge has been finished, so that every credit is due to the htewarda for the energy they have displayed in forwadiug the necessary preliminary work. The main road also is newly metalled, and is a vast improvement upou the one finished by the contractor. It is in all respects creditable to the County and to the Supe intending Engineer, and is a most excellent highway from the town to the country. lnthe^/ew Zealand Gazette of February 20, a circular from the Board of Trade, enclosing a copy of an Imperial Order in Council, declaring that certificates of competency granted in Xe^v Zealand to masters, mates, and engineers for foreign-goiug ships | shall be of the s .me force as those issued by ' the Board of Trade, is published for general information. Wheo the gas mains were laid in Geelong, some teu or twelve years since, a mile or two of paper pipes were put down as an experiment. Recently, tfhen laying on a service pipe for Gale's balloon, some of them were unearthed, and found to be in as good condition as when fiist iaid dowi), whiJetho iron pipes near the same place were nearly corroded through. The groundwork of an extensive system of sericulture is being formed ia Canterbury, .vlr Armstrong, the Government gardener, has propagated 400 mulberry plauca of the best varieties for sericulture. The Rev Mr Peebles, who has been recently delivering lectures in Christen urch on spiritualism, left there on March .3rd, for Dunedin en route for China and Japan. Previous to his departure, the spiritualists residing in Christchurch presented him with a purse of twenty guineas as a mark of their eßtee<n and regard. On Wednesday his Honor the Superintendent of Nelson, accompanied by Messrs Uatley, Broad, and Ivess, proceeded on a visit to Black's Point and some of the mining claims in the vicinity. At Anderson's his -lonor was met by Messrs Oxley and Burgett, md, after inspecting the machinery, proceeded to the Wealth of Nations, on Adam Smith's where he was shown over the mine tad works by Mr Gulline, the mining nanager. Here he was shown some sample ■locks of stone thickly covered with gold, md he expressed much satisfaction with the ippearanue of the mine and the quality of he stone. After partaking of refreshment, che party proceeded to the Energetic Com>any, and were shown over the mine and *vorks by Mr Bray. The turbine wheel was jlaced in operation, and his Honor expressed nimself much satisfied with it. Nothing, says the Jnangahua Herald, has transpired in connection with the recent rolibery at Anderson's, offeriug any clue either as to the mining property or the identity of its perpetrators. According to die statement of au invalided woman who lives near to the machine house, she heard footsteps between one and two o'clock on Tuesday morning, aud on looking out paw a maw of short stature making his way in the direction of the machine house. Noon afterwards Mr Lock head, aroused by the barking of a dog, saw two men, both of short stature, making their way by the back of his premises up the right-hand branch of the Inangahua, each carrying a bundle which assimilated in appearance to copper plates rolled up. The directors, we understand, have forwarded the instructions for plates So supply the place of tho3e lost. The god from the Excelsior claim, at the Lyell, was sent down by boat to vVestport on Wednesday morning last, in charge of the mining manager, MrDickenson. The amount, &h nearly as could be ascertained here, was a little over 80ozs of retorted gold, or about lldwts So the ton, the amount crushed being 151 tons. The return, although it may uot ssem rich to pa> ties unacquainted with the peculiar circumstances attending the obtaining of the stone that has been crashed, aud mth the fact of the manager having been

obliged to crush cv, y atom of stone, very little of which was considered even average stone, to those parties who are aware of the circumstances, the result has been far abov9 their expectation, and should have the effect of raising the compajiy's scrip from ito present "depressed state,' as it proves beyond a shadow of a oou'tt that thin claim is likely to prove a valuable property. Among the various nutters which were brought under the notice of the Superintendent of Nelson during his stay in Reefton, was one which is of the utmost importance. The local oaper says that a deputation, consisting of shareluiMeis in the various claims, waited <>n bin Honor and pointed out several clauses in the Goldiields Kegulations which, being especially intended to meet the exigencies of alluvial mining, have the effect of retarding tbe development of the reefs. MiCurtis at once consented to place the sum of LI OO at the disposal of tbe Warden for the purpose of defraying the expenses connected with the hnldinn of a conference consisting of eight members, four of whom are to represent the Murray Creek reefs, one each tbe districts of Boatman's and Larry's, and two the Lyell. The conference is to sit at Reefton, and their report is to be submitted to a board consisting of the Wardens of the district, Messrs Broad, Giles, and Whitefo»rd. Tt will he the duty of these gentlemen to forward the report of the conference with any remarks they may wish to make on it to the Government at Nelson who wiil then review the whole matter, and so far as they can carry out the proposals of the conference. The board will virtually have to undertake the responsibility of re-modt.lling the regulations so far as they relate to quartz-mining, and therefore it is of the utmost importance that the v<?ry best men should be returned. The following mining items referring to the Upper Buller, are from a correspondent of the Lyell Argils: — "In consequence of the low state of the Buller River miners are at present busily and profitably employed in working ground which they otherwise could not. There is a great extent of bush on both sides of the river which will pay well for cradling, som6 of it being even rich enough to pay wages by simply washing it with a tin dish. Some new ground has been taken up on a terrace about nine miles from Lyell, which prospects very well, so well indeed that I believe it i 3 the intention of the party to bring in water in order to work it. It is close to Paul and Archey's well-known claim, and is supposed to be the same inside run upon which they are working. There are many similar terraces along the Buller River, which I think if properly tried would be found to contain ground capable of paying good wayes, as water can always lie obtained with a little trouble. I feel certain, judging from the numbers arriving here daily, that there will be a large population working on the Upper Bullyr this winter. A large number of these arrivals are parties holding interests in the Lyell reefs who are acquainted with this ilistricr, and determined upou setting in here in order to be enaoled to 'make a living and retail their interests in the reefs Thej claim on Fern Flat, better known as the • Happy Boy's.' continues to pay well. They expect it will take two or thrre years yet before the claim will b - worked out. Tne Maruiaand Matakitaki still retain a jjood population, who seem well satisfied wi-.h their returns." Thompson, Smith, and Barkley have accepted tenders for a brick warehouse, and now wish to dispose of one of their establishments on Mawhera Quiy. They are offering every clafs of goods at prices hitherto unknown in Greymouth, and invite particular attention to present prices, as it is most necessary foi them to reduce their present heavy stock to enable them to carry out alterations without inconvenience.— [Advt.]